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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · jam · shower · fan · mark · tear · season · wound

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — of the year
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mark — a trace
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. present — a gift
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. present — the time now
  17. mark — a grade
  18. shower — rain
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. season — in sport
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wound — an injury
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com